August is a rough month. For anyone who has been off from school, or off from their job, or taking a sabbatical from life, the dreaded End of Summer reminds us of responsibilities and lots of work. The seasonal transition darkens our music, too, as can be heard in Stress Dolls’ premiere, “Pills”. Raw vocals from Chelsea O’Donnell evoke a sense of frustration, swallowing the serious atmosphere that the cloud of Fall presents.
The melancholic track marks a new frontier for the Buffalo-based punk rockers. Beginning their name changeover from Wolf to Stress Dolls, the four-piece troop has stepped up their intensity to match the emotions O’Donnell sings about. “I take my pills/They keep me sane/Well they can save me from dying/But they don’t save me from shame,” sings O’Donnell.
“Pills” talks of the complicated relationships we encounter, and does so in a garage-rock, Sleater-Kinney-esque manner. In Chelsea’s words, “The song is about knowing someone who is struggling with a problem that is out of control and in turn feeling helpless in trying to snap that person out of it. Basically: you can’t help someone who doesn’t want help.”
Stress Dolls’ Upcoming Shows:
September 29th- show at Milkies in Buffalo, NY
October 1st- show at EBC in Fredonia, NY
October 10th– show at Buffalo Iron Works w/ Atlas Bloom (NYC)
You can keep up with Stress Dolls here.
